A 16-year-old Granby boy electrocuted in a golf-course pond last week will be memorialized in a place that reflects his personality – the outdoors – his father said Saturday.
Meanwhile, authorities continue their investigation into why a hot wire was strung into the water.
Ian Raftshol was taken off life support Tuesday, 24 hours after wading into the pond at the Roadside Trailer Park golf course near Granby to rescue his dog – an act his father said was a testament to his fierce loyalty.
“He would just do anything for his buddies,” said his father, Jon Raftshol. “I mean, he gave his life for his dog without even thinking about it.”
The animal was yelping as it was being shocked by the 110-volt wire.
Hearing the commotion from the dog, campers raced to the scene and found the teen in the water, entangled in the single-strand wire that may have been intended to ward off beavers.
“It was fastened on one end on a … log, and the other end was a plug that went into the outlet,” said Grand County Coroner Dave Schoenfeld. “They tried to do what they could and even took a hacksaw to the wire, but there was too much electricity, and they couldn’t get him out.”
A strong electrical current, made more potent by the water, can cause muscles to constrict involuntarily, leaving victims unable to move or free themselves, Schoenfeld said.
The dog, Emmy, survived. The mixed-breed has been with the family for about 10 years and had once attacked a mountain lion that threatened Ian, his mother, Lori Raftshol, said.
A woman answering the phone at the campground along U.S. 34, a couple of miles north of Granby, said Friday that the owners could not be reached for comment.
Grand County Undersheriff Walt Eldridge indicated that the case remained under investigation, although he would not say whether criminal charges may be filed.
Ian Raftshol periodically would collect stray golf balls with a friend who was with him at the time of the accident, Schoenfeld said. The friend’s name has not been released.
Raftshol’s memorial is set for 5 p.m. Monday at the Sol Vista ski area, where the avid snowboarder, skateboarder and outdoorsman learned his favorite sport. The service is open to the public.
“It’s not doing anything in a church or in a building or anything like that,” Jon Raftshol said. “It’s going to be outside because that’s just the way he was.”
